Even though it is still much too soon to quantify the extent of the damage caused by this unusual storm, Sandy is obviously a monstrous disaster.

I do not wish to belabor the obvious, but with the election a week from today it seems very strange that global warming has been such a neglected topic throughout this long presidential campaign. Even as both parties strive to outdo the other in relief to those affected by this storm, shouldn’t we be examining much larger issues?

The unusual and historic nature of this disastrous storm should prod both the democrats and the republicans to reconsider the importance of what the vast majority of our world’s scientists are telling us about global warming, sea level rise, and the vulnerability of our coastal populations not only in New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, but all along our western and eastern coastlines.

If any good can emerge from the devastation caused by this one storm, perhaps it should be the growing awareness that we must reconsider our national policies regarding global warming. And that we begin in every way possible to funnel our resources, as the impact of Sandy would suggest, into avoiding Katrina-like scenarios along our other two coasts.